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WSOP Event 54: Marcel Vonk Wins First NLHE Bracelet for Netherlands

It wasn’t the last of the tournaments at the 2010 World Series of Poker, but it was the last of six $1K NLHE events, meaning it was the last opportunity for players to get in at a bargain price and compete for the coveted gold bracelet. While there were certainly a number of pros looking for another chance at a win - or at least a significant cash - the event was going to draw a mostly amateur-heavy field that would give anyone and everyone the chance to take it down.

There were 3,844 players who took that chance over the first two starting days, and they created a collective prize pool of $3,459,000. The 586 players who survived their first days returned to sit together on Day 2, where they played into the money so the last 396 of them could get paid, and worked their way down to only 47 players. Day 3 allowed them the time to find a final table, and with the elimination of Johnny Kitchens late in the evening in tenth place, that left nine ready to bag their chips.

Those nine players were set up at the final table with the following chip counts:

David Peters

2,653,000

Marcel Vonk

2,253,000

Henrik Tollefsen

1,878,000

Nathan Jessen

990,000

Matthew Lupton

973,000

Dustin Dorrance-Bowman

794,000

Mehul Chaudhari

789,000

Paul Kerr

784,000

Espen Moen

443,000

When the last nine competitors returned to play for the win, they were competing against Day 1A of the WSOP Main Event, but only one of those two events was going to award a bracelet on Monday, June 5. That was Event 54.

It didn’t take very long for Dorrance-Bowman to be put to the test. Peters started the hand with a raise, Tollefsen called, and Kerr reraised all-in for about 880K. Dorrance-Bowman called from the big blind with , and after Peters and Tollefsen folded, Kerr showed . The flop of immediately gave Kerr the advantage, and the on the turn and on the river allowed that top pair to stand. Dustin Dorrance-Bowman was gone without much delay in ninth place taking with $45,286 with him.

Moen hadn’t been able to overcome his initial short stack, and with about 325K remaining, he pushed preflop. Peters made the call with , which dominated the of Moen. The board of changed nothing for either player, which allowed Peters to scoop the pot, while Espen Moen exited in eighth place with $59,020.

And then a big hand developed, one that would indicate that the players were ready to finish it without delay. Vonk raised to kick things off, and Chaudhari reraised all-in for his last 680K. Lupton came over the top all-in from the big blind. Vonk almost immediately called both players and had them covered with . Lupton showed for the coin flip hand, but Chaudhari could only muster . The board brought nothing as it came but a pair of eights, and that gave Vonk two pair. Mehul Chaudhari walked away in seventh place with $77,633, and Matthew Lupton followed in sixth place with $103,061.

Tollefsen and Peters got into a preflop raising war that found Peters moving all-in and Tollefsen eventually calling for his tournament life. Peters showed , and Tollefsen had , but Peters hit the flop when it came . And the on the turn gave him trips. The on the river ended the hand and eliminated Henrik Tollefsen in fifth place with $138,107.

Four-handed play took awhile. It started with Peters climbing into a massive lead. Jessen doubled through Vonk and removed himself from severe danger, while Vonk then doubled through Peters. Kerr also doubled through Peters, and the latter found himself out of the lead.

Jessen was short and doubled through Kerr to stay alive, but he found the urge to try it again with a bit over 1 million chips. Vonk made the call with , and Jessen showed . The flop of had no effect on the hands, but the only solidified Vonk’s lead in the hand. The on the river officially sent Nathan Jessen out of the tournament with $186,818 for the fourth place finish.

Kerr then had problems holding on to his chips, though he did double through Vonk once. Kerr then got involved with Peters to see a flop. Peters bet and Kerr called to bring on the turn. Peters bet again, and that time prompted Kerr to move all-in. Peters called with and two pair. Kerr showed for the flush draw and pair of jacks. The on the river made the flush but gave Peters the full house and the pot. Paul Kerr was eliminated in a painful way in third place, which was worth $255,076.

Heads-up play then began with the following chip counts:

Marcel Vonk

5,950,000

David Peters

5,600,000

Vonk came on strong during the confrontation, but Peters came back and was able to take the lead by the dinner break. Peters then returned from dinner to increase his lead as he moved up above the 8.68 million mark. That was when Vonk doubled up to stay alive, then doubled up to move into his original heads-up lead.

Peters decided to push his last million chips with , and Vonk called with . The board of gave Vonk top pair, and David Peters was eliminated in second place with $350,803.

Mark Vonk of the Netherlands won Event 54 and became the first Dutch player to ever win a no-limit holdem WSOP bracelet. With that honor and piece of gold came $570,960 for the victory.